Backup goaltender Philipp Grubauer stopped 37 of 38 shots to pick up his third win of the season. The Capitals haven’t lost at home since Nov. 30 and are 18-2-0 in their past 20 games in Washington.

Alex Ovechkin assisted on Carlson’s goal to get him to four away from 500 for his career. Carlson, who’s sixth among defensemen with 30 points,Authentic Sidney Crosby jersey, could join Ovechkin as an All-Star when the league announces rosters on Wednesday.

Daniel Sedin scored the only goal and Jacob Markstrom made 33 saves for the Canucks, who have lost five in a row. Vancouver has gone 2-11-2 in its past 15 games to go from third in the Pacific Division to 14th in the 15-team Western Conference.

The Capitals got off to a sluggish start and gave up the game’s first goal on a Vancouver 5-on-3 power play when Sedin deflected Alexander Edler’s point shot past Grubauer. They responded quickly with a goal by Carlson that held up on a goaltender interference challenge and a snipe by Eller that made it 2-1 after the first period.

Kuznetsov made it 3-1 in the second when he batted the puck out of the air on his own rebound with help from Canucks defenseman Erik Gudbranson, who accidentally gloved it into his own net. Markstrom did his best to keep his team in the game while the Caps outshot Vancouver 18-4 in the second period, and Grubauer was up to the task in the third with 20 saves.

The Blue Jackets are limping into their five-day break after another surprising loss to one of the NHL's worst teams.

Sven Baertschi sparked a four-goal second period for Vancouver, Jacob Markstrom had 27 saves and the Canucks rallied to beat Columbus 5-2 on Friday night.

The Blue Jackets also lost 3-1 to Buffalo on Thursday night despite outshooting the Sabres 45-29. Columbus got off to a strong start against Vancouver before the decisive second period. The Blue Jackets now get some time to recover while still holding onto second place in the Metropolitan Division.

"It'll leave a bad taste in the guys' mouths for sure, recharge and know that we have a chance here to get some energy for a big push in February," Columbus captain Nick Foligno said. "But this break probably comes at a good time for us where we can get away, March and April."

The Canucks got another power-play goal at 14:31. Gaunce broke his stick on the shot, but the puck slipped in between Bobrovsky's pads. The fourth goal came at 17:15 when Edler's shot deflected off the skate of defender Markus Nutivaara.

"It was a funky second period, that's for sure," Columbus coach John Tortorella said. "You have to make your puck luck. We had a lot of luck and a lot of it was bad in that second period. We've just got to reset ourselves here and try to find our way."

Jason Zucker and Daniel Winnik scored for Minnesota, 5-0-2 in its last seven homes games.

The Wild are also taking their mandatory break,adidas Jakub Voracek jersey, and wanted to finish a four-games-in-six-night stretch on high note. They've earned earned six of a possible eight points in the stretch.

"Just looking at tonight, we're slowly climbing the standings,adidas Mario Lemieux jersey, it's pretty disappointing having the lead with three minutes left in the game and not coming away with the win. But I guess big picture wise, so that's a good thing," Zach Parise said.

Vanek redirected a slap shot from Sam Gagner between Dubnyk's pads to tie it with 3:12 left in regulation. Winnik scored on a one-timer from the left circle with 7:46 to play to put the Wild ahead 2-1.

While Vancouver is likely in sell mode as the trade deadline approaches late next month,adidas Evgeni Malkin jersey, Minnesota holds the first wild card spot in the Western Conference with five teams within four points.

"We are definitely pushing in the right direction, that's for sure," Nate Prosser said. "As a team we're all playing together better. You can sense it on the ice and in the locker room. We are building."

The singing of the Canadian National Anthem was drowned out by fans cheering in the concourse watching the Minnesota Vikings score on the game's final play to beat the New Orleans Saints in the NFL playoffs.

Washington is on the opposite track,adidas Joe Pavelski jersey, now leading the Metropolitan Division by four points. Tuesday's effort wasn't the sharpest, but the Capitals again found a way to pick up two points.

"Has this game been our best of the year? I don't know," Eller said. "Definitely this stretch has been our best of the year."

The Capitals haven't lost at home since Nov. 30 and are 18-2-0 in their past 20 games in Washington.

"I don't if it's just being comfortable or not,adidas Sidney Crosby jersey, but hopefully it's something that we can bring on the road with us," Capitals winger Devante Smith-Pelly said.

"I knew I had to answer the bell," Hutton said. "We fought, and he said thanks in the box for stepping up. It's just another hockey play."

Grubauer took care of the rest with his glove and blocker, taking care of the few shots the Canucks got from high-quality areas. Despite seeing just four shots on net in the second period, Grubauer was on his game in the third when the momentum easily could have shifted.

"It's a little bit challenging because you've got to stay mentally more into the game," Grubauer said. "I was saving my energy for the last (period) there, and I think we kept it really simple there and got the win."

On a historically significant day for the franchise, the Carolina Hurricanes picked up an important regulation victory that helped them move up the standings.

Victor Rask scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and Scott Darling made 26 saves as the Hurricanes beat the Metropolitan Division-leading Washington Capitals 3-1 on Thursday night, hours after the team's sale to Dallas billionaire Tom Dundon was finalized. The two points helped Carolina leapfrog the idle Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins to move into a playoff position after 43 games.

"Two points in regulation is the only way you can really make up any ground," coach Bill Peters said. "You better make hay when the sun shines, and it was a nice day here in Washington today."

It'll be an even nicer day Friday in Raleigh when Dundon, Commissioner Gary Bettman and previous majority owner Peter Karmanos discuss the sale that should at least temporarily quiet relocation speculation. The NHL on Thursday announced Dundon had completed his purchase of the Hurricanes, who are expected to stay put for the foreseeable future.

" said Darling,"It's exciting,Authentic Jakub Voracek jersey, who won for the first time since Dec. 16 in a rare start. "We all had a chance to meet him. He seems like a great guy. He has a lot of big plans, and we're excited to see it all unfold."

which improved to 9-7-8 in one-goal games. Winger Justin Williams,Authentic Mario Lemieux jersey,Co-captain Jordan Staal scored a short-handed goal and Sebastian Aho added an empty-netter for Carolina, who left Washington after two seasons, said the difference between the first-place Capitals and the Hurricanes was the disparity in their performances in tight games.

The Carolina Hurricanes learned a tough lesson over the past 1? weeks: No lead is safe on home ice against the Washington Capitals.

Jay Beagle scored with 1.3 seconds remaining and the Capitals rallied to beat the Hurricanes 4-3 on Friday night.

Brett Connolly notched the tying goal with 3:08 left,Authentic Evgeni Malkin jersey, and Alex Ovechkin added his NHL-leading 28th goal and two assists for the first-place Capitals, who lost to the Hurricanes a night before in Washington.